By Carol Fisher-Linn
Part III of Series
Who doesn’t love television journalist Tim Russert? He served as the longest-serving moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press for 16 years. Born in Buffalo, son of a homemaker and sanitation worker (everyone knew “Big Russ”). He was a dedicated Irish Catholic, and received a Jesuit education from Canisius HS in Buffalo, eventually earning a Juris Doctor with honors from Cleveland State College of Law. Before television, he worked closely as general counsel and chief of staff for U.S. Senator Daniel Moynihan in Buffalo and later became top aide to NY Governor Mario Cuomo. He was a frequent correspondent and guest on NBC’s The Today Show and Hardball. He covered several presidential elections using his whiteboard (now housed in The Smithsonian) to sum out outcomes. TV Guide described his whiteboard use at that time as “one of the greatest moments in TV history.” He moderated political campaign debates, and Time magazine included Russert, who had more than four million viewers per week, in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008. A die-hard Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills fan he often closed his Sunday broadcasts saying, “Go Bills.” Not lacking in humor, Russert once commented on Meet the Press that he went to Woodstock “in a Buffalo Bills jersey with a case of beer.” US Route 20A leading to the Buffalo Bill Stadium in Orchard Park NY was reamed “Timothy K. Russert Highway.” To learn more about Russert, read his best-selling autobiography, Big Russ and Me. Sadly, Tim died at 58 and we can no longer enjoy his commentary and keen wit.
Who hasn’t read Mark Twain? Although not originally from the Western NY area, he has roots through his marriage to Olivia Langdon from Elmira, NY. Through her, Twain met abolitionists and activists for women’s rights and social equality like Harriet Beecher Stowe and Frederick Douglas which shaped his perspective and narratives. The Clemenses lived in Buffalo for several years where Twain owned a stake in the Buffalo Express newspaper and served as both editor and writer. While they were living in Buffalo, their son Langdon died of diphtheria in 1872 at the age of 19 months so they frequently returned to visit his gravesite. Mark Twain named his cat “Cattaraugus” after visiting in this area.
Who hasn’t heard of the Goo Goo Dolls? John Rzeznik (born December 5, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and producer, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the rock band Goo Goo Dolls, with whom he has recorded several chart-topping hits, including “Iris”, “Slide”, and “Name”. Rzeznik was born in Buffalo, New York, to a bar proprietor and postal clerk, both musicians.
A second generation Pole, Rzeznik had the classic strict, working-class upbringing in Buffalo’s East Side Polish neighborhood (think Broadway Market area) and attended Corpus Christi grammar school. Both parents died within a year of each other so at 16, he and his five older siblings and a cousin, John Guljas, raised themselves. He managed to attend McKinley Vocational, paying for his own apartment with Social Security survivor benefits. It is in that period of his life that he started playing the guitar. Dropping out of Buffalo State college after a year, in 1985, Rzeznik formed the band that became the Goo Goo Dolls with Robby Takac. Fast forward, the band remains a success, Rzeznik continues to honor his Buffalo roots and in June 2008, Rzeznik was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and awarded the Hal David Starlight Award.
Olympics, anyone? Olympian Jenn Suhr, daughter of Mark and Sue Stuczynski, grocery store owners in Fredonia NY starting to play softball at age 6 and at 9, competed in an adult golf league with her grandfather. A multi-talented athlete, Suhr played softball, basketball, soccer, and track and field, and won the New York State pentathlon title in 2000 as a senior at Fredonia HS. Suhr won the 2016 USA Olympic Trials and competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Due to an undiagnosed, but serious illness, Suhr announced her retirement in June 2022. Over the course of her career, Jenn Suhr won 17 USA National Championships, 7 indoor and 10 outdoor which included every outdoor national championship from 2006 to 2016 except for 2011. At six foot tall, Suhr holds 6 Olympic medals and was listed #1 in the world in pole vault (Wikipedia). Track & Field News named Suhr the American Female Athlete of the Year for 2008. No male vaulter has ever won that American honor and only other female winner has, in 2001.
Ahh, it’s gotta be in that Western NY water!